Seeing Qin Duoye get dragged away, Chixuan flashed and followed closely behind. The paper and pen in his hand still rustled as he continuously recorded everything he saw.
“Elder sister, I’m back!”
Fifth Zhongxi pushed open the front gate and pulled Qin Duoye straight into the courtyard.
After running wildly all the way, Qin Duoye finally stopped, bent over, and braced one hand on his knee while pressing his other hand against his chest to steady his breathing.
Because of the intense exertion, his heart hammered in his chest, and his lungs burned as if on fire, making it almost difficult to breathe.
Murder! This is murder! The brat has no respect for the elderly!
Qin Duoye once again mentally placed physical conditioning high on his to-do list.
Straightening his posture, he looked toward the center of the Fifth family’s courtyard, where a woman in martial arts attire was swinging a long spear with a fierce, whistling momentum.
Good!
A flash of approval crossed Qin Duoye’s eyes.
Hearing Fifth Zhongxi’s voice, the woman whipped her ponytail around, grabbed Fifth Zhongxi by the arm, and hauled him right into the training ground. “Little brother, spar with my sister for a couple of moves!”
The sharp tip of the spear swept past Qin Duoye’s neck. In a blur, Fifth Zhongxi was hoisted up and tossed directly into the middle of the courtyard.
The teenager’s miserable scream echoed through the air: “Ahhh, I don’t want to! Brother Wen! Save me!”
Qin Duoye: “…”
The family style of the Fifth household was truly terrifying.
A series of clanging clashes broke out in the center of the courtyard. The long spear flew up into the treetops, plunged downward with a sharp sound, and embedded itself diagonally into the bluestone bricks, vibrating so fiercely that it stopped just half a step away from Fifth Zhongxi’s foot.
The setting sun cast a warm, golden glow over the figures and leaves in the courtyard.
A Fifth family servant handed Qin Duoye a cup of clear tea.
The woman in the courtyard dragged a half-dead Fifth Zhongxi over to Qin Duoye, swept her fists together in a crisp martial salute, and declared, “You’re not bad at all. That spear was right beside your neck, and you didn’t even blink.”
Qin Duoye smiled faintly, perfectly maintaining proper etiquette as he returned the greeting, “Fifth Miss, the women truly outshine the men.”
Fifth Muolan’s eyes lit up, and she reached out as if to pat Qin Duoye on the shoulder like a sworn brother.
At that moment, the front gate of the Fifth residence was pushed open with a loud bang. A middle-aged man dressed in top-rank official robes walked in, spreading his arms wide and calling out loudly, “Children, Daddy is back from his shift! I brought you something delicious.”
The middle-aged man’s happy, gentle expression suddenly landed on Qin Duoye. He froze entirely, and a crack of awkwardness formed across his face.
Qin Duoye watched as the man’s relaxed, comfortable expression stiffened bit by bit. Then, the man hurriedly put on a stern and upright mask, straightening his posture as if the preceding interruption had never happened at all.
“Lord Wen, why are you here?”
Upon seeing him, the fragmented memories belonging to Wen Qinghe surfaced once again in Qin Duoye’s mind.
Fifth Yan held the ultra-first-rank position of Grand Scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion. He was exceptionally talented, possessed noble character, and concurrently served as a lecturer at the Wenyuan Pavilion. Most scholars in the world were his disciples, giving him immense influence at court. Furthermore, he was known as a strictly rigid and thoroughly upright official.
Such an upright and serious man indeed.
“Lord Fifth.” Qin Duoye sorted out the memories, lowered his gaze to offer a bow, and used the movement to hide a smile that threatened to break the corners of his mouth.
Fifth Zhongxi hurriedly grabbed his father’s sleeve, recounting everything that had happened on the street that afternoon with heavy embellishments.
Hearing the explanation, Fifth Yan’s expression gradually turned genuinely severe. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper until he finally looked toward Qin Duoye.
Qin Duoye understood and said softly, “You’ve realized it too, haven’t you?”
Fifth Yan nodded in acknowledgment, bowed deeply toward Qin Duoye, and raised his hands level with his brows, “My son is unruly and foolish; I am fortunate to have Lord Wen’s assistance.”
With a sigh, he turned around, grabbed Fifth Zhongxi by the ear, and ground his teeth in frustration, “Racing horses in a bustling market! I must have spoiled you to the point of lawlessness!”
Qin Duoye: “…”
Grand Scholar Fifth, your dignified image has completely collapsed, and there are outsiders present.
Fifth Zhongxi cried out in grievance, “Dad! I wasn’t riding in the market! I was outside the bazaar, and suddenly my horse acted like it was startled and bolted right in!”
Hearing this, Qin Duoye raised an eyebrow and looked at Fifth Yan.
So someone was setting a trap.
First, they provoked Fifth Zhongxi’s horse to charge into the market. Next, they arranged for someone to pretend to be struck by the horse, while planting accomplices in the crowd to shout out pre-prepared lines at the right moment, guiding the root of the conflict right onto Fifth Yan.
Evidently, Fifth Yan had realized it as well, and he loosened his grip.
“Good girl, take this little brat away. Daddy has matters to discuss with a guest.”
Sensing the atmosphere turning grave, Fifth Muolan walked over, grabbed her brother by his topknot, and dragged the brainless fellow away.
Seeing Fifth Yan dismiss everyone present, Qin Duoye spoke up, “Has Lord Fifth offended anyone recently, either at court or elsewhere?”
“What does Lord Wen mean by this?”
Qin Duoye wore simple robes. As the evening autumn wind blew, it made him look slender and frail. Although his complexion carried the paleness of illness, his starry eyes held a trace of cold brilliance, making him appear inherently powerful, as if his sickly exterior were merely a casual cloak draped over him.
He smiled faintly and said, “Aside from your young master, your eldest daughter has also been dragged into this vortex. The ultimate goal is likely to pull Grand Scholar Fifth down from his position.”
Liu Xuanhai had intentionally or unintentionally brought up the topic of selecting an imperial consort and establishing an empress in his presence, and the name that appeared most frequently was Fifth Yan’s eldest daughter, Fifth Muolan.
Qin Duoye had initially thought Liu Xuanhai was acting on Fifth Yan’s instructions, assuming Fifth Yan had his eyes on the empress’s seat. But seeing the situation today, that was clearly not the case.
Fifth Yan’s actions today were much more like an ordinary father in the common streets rather than a parent calculating for his children’s interests.
Instead, it looked as though someone had calculated Qin Xuanqi’s deep aversion to inner palace affairs, intending to use the empress selection to direct the emperor’s wrath toward the Fifth family and kill with a borrowed knife.
They had simply used Wen Qinghe as a vanguard.
A faint trace of anger welled up in Qin Duoye’s heart.
Hmph.
Using a borrowed knife, and the blade they borrowed happened to be the emperor himself.
To scheme against the sovereign—who gave the mastermind behind the scenes such audacity!
Hearing this, Fifth Yan’s pupils trembled. The two successive shocks left him with no regard for formalities. “What did you say?”
Qin Duoye smiled slightly to reassure Fifth Yan, “Don’t worry, neither of those two plots succeeded.”
Meeting Qin Duoye’s deep gaze, Fifth Yan gradually calmed down. Thinking through the crucial links, he suddenly understood.
“Lord Wen, words cannot express my gratitude. Please, come inside the house with me to talk.”
Qin Duoye nodded and gladly accepted.
The setting sun gradually melted into the darkness of the long night, pulling back its warm light. The sky grew hazy and dim, and the shadows of the leaves deepened the autumn chill.
Lanterns began to light up one by one within the Fifth residence.
Chixuan squatted on a tree outside the Fifth family’s courtyard. Having no idea what Qin Duoye and Fifth Yan were discussing, he could only circle a large blank space on his paper with his brush.
Finally, the door of the main house was pushed open. After Qin Duoye firmly refused Fifth Yan’s enthusiastic and repeated invitations to stay for dinner, Fifth Yan reluctantly let his son send him home.
Once Qin Duoye returned home and shut the door, he let out a long sigh of relief.
The Fifth family’s household atmosphere was far too warm! It was completely different from the stern, rigid, and gloomy rumors circulating outside.
Fortunately, Fifth Yan was a smart man.
Turning his head, Qin Duoye caught sight of Qingxuan’s resentful gaze staring straight at him.
Qin Duoye: “…?”
“His Majesty sent me to be your guard, to protect you and follow Lord Wen’s orders,” Qingxuan explained.
So that’s how it is. You gave me a scare. No wonder you were squatting silently by the door like a stone lion.
Though, come to think of it, interacting with that child Qin Xuanqi was still much more comfortable.
Early the next morning, Qin Duoye, who had gone out to roam around all afternoon the day before, fell even more ill.
He had overestimated the health of this new body.
His head pounded with a splitting pain, and even the slightest tilt felt as though a blunt instrument was hammering away at his brain.
Enduring his dizzy, heavy head, Qin Duoye managed to choke down two bowls of bitter medicine. He slowly got up and dragged himself to the Censorate, where he usually reported for duty every day.
Tomorrow was the grand court assembly, so he needed to go in today to sort out his previous official duties and check on his colleagues’ faces one by one, striving to jog more of Wen Qinghe’s memories.
During the last grand court assembly, the Emperor had flown into a rage and thrown him into the inner palace. After fermenting over the past few days, the news had long since spread among the officials.
He had been absent for four days. The moment he arrived at the Censorate today, it was like pouring cold water into a boiling wok, instantly causing an uproar.
The surrounding colleagues who had been quietly handling official business swarmed around him in a flurry, chattering away with endless questions.
Abruptly encountering so many faces, a chaotic flood of memories surged into his mind, making Qin Duoye, already dizzy from the fever, feel even more disoriented.
He quickly sat down at his desk. Fortunately, his superior let out a roar: “What kind of behavior is this? Back to your desks!”
The surrounding colleagues scattered like birds.
With the sudden return of quiet, Qin Duoye raised his hand, pressing his index and middle fingers against the center of his brow to massage it slowly.
He sorted through all the memories that had surfaced in his mind, packed all the documents from his desk into his pouch, slowly stood up, and left the Censorate.
His superior had wanted to stop Qin Duoye, but upon seeing Qingxuan from the Xuan-Yi Guard eyeing the surroundings with a predatory glare, he swallowed his words and decided to pretend the man had never come in today.
The next day, the grand court assembly.
Qin Duoye had behaved himself the previous night, resting at home and casually reviewing Wen Qinghe’s official documents. The symptoms of the cold had finally subsided enough to let him crawl out of bed at the third watch in the early dawn, journeying from the distant alleys toward the imperial palace to make it in time for the fifth-watch morning assembly.
As he breathed in the crisp, chill, dust-laden air of the mid-autumn dawn while walking toward the palace, Qin Duoye secretly resolved to simply sponge off the palace and never leave in the future. The commute was far too long, required waking up way too early, and with this weak body, it was simply impossible to get up!
If he lived in the palace, waking up at the fourth watch would be more than enough!
When Qin Duoye hurried over, the bell for the fifth watch was chiming leisurely across the palaces. The surrounding officials noticed him, but before anyone could ask anything, the assembly procession slowly moved forward, leaving no opportunity for conversation.
Qin Duoye tucked his hands into his sleeves and silently followed the court ministers through the Liangyi Gate.
In his past life, he had only ever sat upon the dragon throne, waiting for hundreds of officials to shout “Long live,” but he had never personally walked this path of entering the court from outside the palace.
It was extraordinarily interesting.
Happily, Qin Duoye followed the procession up the steps of the Wuji Hall and looked up.
The golden dome was solemn and cold, exuding a stern chill. Stretching across the vast hall, his gaze met a half-smiling look coming from the dragon throne.
Qin Duoye rolled his eyes right back at the Emperor.